Cricket South Africa performance & forensic investigation; with Minister

Meeting report

Committee Chairperson, Ms Beauty Dlulane, was concerned that the organisation, which was once regarded as a champion of transformation, was now showing signs of regression, especially with regard to women representation in management and the development of cricket in rural areas.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) briefing
Mr Chris Nenzani, CSA President, Dr Jacques Faul, CSA Acting CEO and Mr Beresford Williams, CSA Vice President, were present. Mr Chris Nenzan briefed the Committee on the CSA 2020/21 Annual Performance Plan; status of the independent forensic audit and disciplinary process; plans for new Test Series, ODI and T20 cricket sponsorship; introduction of a new format cricket (three team cricket concept); stakeholder management; revenue; and commercial strategy for 2020-23 (see document).

Discussion
Mr M Seabi (ANC) welcomed the presentation. He referred to a statement issued by CSA Pres Nenzani that he regrets staying in his position for another year. He asked why he said that. He noted CSA’s history of being a champion of transformation. He referred to signs that CSA was regressing on this. He asked how the CSA planned to continue with transformation. He asked how CSA had been affected by Covid-19. He referred to the CSA annual budget and pointed to the deficit of R200 million. He asked the President to take the Committee into confidence about the deficit. Lastly, he asked, “how much of the budget is dedicated towards the development of cricket in rural areas, especially villages and townships?”

Mr W Faber (DA) asked about the disciplinary action taken against Mr Thabang Moroe. He referred to Pres Nenzani’s confirmation that the interim report on the independent forensic audit, the investigation into the suspended CEO and loss of the R80 million Standard Bank annual sponsorship, was being released later that day. He asked the President to give the Committee a brief outcome of these events and if this was on the part of the former CEO. He asked if CSA intended to get someone with the same level of knowledge as him into the organization. He asked about the 200 person limit at the Solidarity Cup starting on 11 June, if the games would be broadcast by DStv and SABC broadcasting rights – as there is a lot of money involved. He asked if the most vulnerable, especially children in disadvantaged communities, have access to watch this Cup. He asked for more information on the relationship between CSA and the South African Cricket Association (SACA). He was aware that the relationship between the two went south but asked if the relationship was back on track. He saw that CSA was exceeding their transformation status as per the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) report and that they have demonstrated redress through inclusion for all. He asked if the Department of Sport gives CSA a fair bite of their budget as CSA mostly relies on sponsorships. Was CSA getting the right share of the Department’s annual budget?

Mr B Madlingozi (EFF) welcomed the presentation. He remarked that transformation required people’s names and surnames to be pronounced properly and referenced the Acting CEO’s pronunciation of Pres Nenzani’s name. He said that street cricket cannot be a game-changer as street cricket originated because there were no spaces allocated for them to play. Therefore, he does not see it as a game-changer and spaces must be created for such sports. He referred to Mr Seabi’s statement that there need to be spaces for this in black schools and communities. He asked why Standard Bank had withdrawn its sponsorship of cricket. He referred to Dr Faul’s comment that it was outstanding for a woman coaching a men’s team. He asked why this was extraordinary? Having women doing something for men should be not be looked at as special. He asked if it was Pres Nenzani’s choice not to mention the names of those affected by the disciplinary action.

Mr T Mhlongo (DA) referred to the CSA presentation which mentioned the report must be available as of 1 June. CSA was failing the Committee by not presenting that report. He asked what the CSA board was going to do if this "duty that they have done" was not according to the law. Would the same approach used for Thabang Moroe be used for the entire board? He asked if this process was fair according to CSA policy and labour law. He asked if this process was consistent with the law following the processes followed for previous CEO, Mr Lorgat, and if not, why not. He asked if the report warranted Mr Moroe's suspension. He asked who the Committee must listen to, the Acting CEO or the President? The Acting CEO had said that the forensic report would be made public but the President said something different. He asked for the President to comment on Graeme Smith’s comment that he does not understand transformation and if the CSA was dealing with this. He referred to another comment by Mr Smith that he supports only the seat of the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairperson, not Pres Nenzani. He asked if Pres Nenzani saw this as insubordination and if Mr Smith would be charged. He asked if Mr Smith would face the same process as Mr Moroe. Mr Moroe has been suspended for the last seven months but no charges have been laid against him. The CSA has not presented the Committee with these charges. The suspension occurred in December 2019 and that nothing has happened since. He asked when Mr Moroe will be charged. He asked why Mr Moroe went to work in the office the previous week. He asked for CSA to confirm if the office was closed for Mr Moroe to come in. The Committee had been given different reports of what happened. He asked CSA to tell the Committee exactly what had happened. He asked for an update on the progress made on Project 654 which was about the estimated CSA R654m loss over the next four years. He asked if the Committee would “get the report now or at the end of June?”. Why had the Committee not received the report now and why had the press said the report would be released the next day?  He asked if CSA was to get its income statement and balance sheet at the end of June and if it was more than what they have.

Ms V Malomane (ANC) welcomed the presentation but was not happy with the lack of women present from CSA. The next time CSA addresses the Committee there must be women from CSA present. Although CSA was the first to deal with transformation, the CSA leadership is currently white dominant. There are only white people, for example, the head of the coaches. She asked how CSA would transform and how CSA would ensure that next time the coaches are black people. She asked how much of CSA budget goes to cricket development in rural areas and villages. She asked if CSA would be taking further legal action against the employees who were found guilty. She asked how CSA ensures that underprivileged schools get equal opportunity. Historically leadership in the national cricket team has been made up of leaders from boy’s schools, and not from disadvantaged schools. She asked how CSA would ensure that cricketers from disadvantaged schools could become captains. How would CSA develop players from rural areas “so that one day we can see a person from the rural areas being a leader or captain” in South African cricket.

Ms R Adams (ANC) said that according to the 2018/19 EPG transformation scorecard, CSA has not achieved the targets for black African representation in the senior male national team nor the female national and under 19 teams. She asked CSA to provide the Committee with reasons these targets have not been met. She asked what plans are in place to ensure the targets are reached soon. She asked what the challenges are that have led to CSA only achieving 70% of its self-set targets in 2018 and 2019. The CSA targets for black African representation in the underage category of the female national team are too low. What were the reasons for setting such low targets? She asked why CSA cannot use the same targets as for the senior national teams. What was the state of franchise cricket in the non-metropolitan cities of SA?

The Chairperson said that CSA had presented a "men’s club" today. This is a time we must not compromise on transformation. The Committee cannot keep quiet about the reversal of transformation. In CSA’s presentation, as in the past, mention was made of cricket development in rural areas. However, there are no statistics that show progress has been made in these areas since 1994. CSA has presented what they are going to do. Sanctions should be effected in every sporting code not following transformation. Due to the legacy of the past regime, people in sport codes still benefit from the disparity created under Apartheid. She asked the board what they had done before they suspended all the officials. CSA cancelled the previous meeting before their crisis. She asked Mr Mhlongo how he could dignify the comments made by Mr Smith about transformation. The Committee will be strict with CSA implementation of transformation. Lack of women representation and racial diversity was inexcusable. The Committee was giving CSA a chance but she suspected such a chance was too much. She suggested that CSA was not working collectively. The President, elected by the collective, should not say that he regrets his position when his organisation faces trouble and he is in a pinch.

CSA response
Pres Nenzani replied about the statement on his term of office at the 16 June evening press conference. Firstly, he regretted not being able to say that cricket had been radically transformed. Secondly, he regretted that he was not in position to properly communicate the positive things CSA has done, as it had relied on the media to so. CSA did not have its own platform to showcase its own achievements and the positive things it is doing. Thirdly, he regretted having served another term in office. He provided context for this statement. His term of office should have ended in September 2019 however in 2018 a resolution was taken by the Members Council to request the President to stay for another year. He neither declined nor accepted. In June in Pretoria, the resolution was again raised before the Members Council at which point he had requested to leave the meeting. On his return to the meeting, he was informed that the Council had agreed that his term should be extended.

The reason he said in hindsight he should not have agreed was due to the concerted attack on him by the media. There were allegations that he had lobbied support for this and that he had changed the constitution, the CSA Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI), to allow a president to serve an additional year. As a result of that attack, CSA suffered collateral damage. The attack suggested that he had engineered the extended term. The CSA constitution has not been amended to effect extending a president’s term. The decision to extend his term was taking in line with the Companies Act which allows the board to extend, by special resolution, the term of one of its directors for a year. It stipulates that the term cannot exceed nine years. He had not lobbied at any point for the members to do so. He had stated at the press conference that to him leadership means an obligation to serve. “That if people elect you and request you stay on for a certain period, you subject yourself to that directive”. It was not due to anything happening within CSA that caused him to make those remarks. But it was due to the collateral damage CSA had suffered as a result of the concerted media attack and allegations that he engineered the term extension.

Pres Nenzani replied to the comments about regression in transformation. CSA is committed to transformation and it is true that CSA was amongst the first, if not the first, to adopt a national code to drive transformation and it continues to do so. The lack of gender representation at this meeting was due to the director induction taking place today so the majority of the board had dedicated that day to transformation at the CSA induction. He said CSA's commitment was not based on CSA passing the EPG process, rather it is seen as an obligation. The EPG process was providing impetus on ensuring that CSA does not fall behind on targets.

Pres Nenzani referred to the poor performance of the Proteas at the 2019 World Cup in England. He referred to the Proteas semi-finals at the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and the team should have won that match because of several contextual issues. After this, CSA instituted a panel to review the performance of the national team and one of the recommendations was to appoint a director of coaching. The director of coaching would ensure that there is a common DNA and common philosophy in the coaching of cricket in South Africa. This is to ensure that when a player is coached at under 11, under 13 and under 15 level, they are coached in the same philosophical environment and are not surprised when they go to the next level. When the Proteas performed poorly at the 2019 World Cup in England, it was decided that CSA would implement the panel recommendations and look for a candidate for the Director of Cricket. That position was a massive responsibility and required well-qualified person with a track record whose opinion commands respect, to drive a strategy. The candidate who emerged from the interview process was Graeme Smith who did not initially want the position. After he engaged with Mr Smith, he was appointed the interim Director of Cricket.

Pres Nenzani acknowledged that CSA suspended a black CEO and appointed a white acting CEO which to many people created the impression of regression in transformation. If one looks broadly at CSA at a variety of levels, one will find that transformation has not regressed. Due to the appointment of two key personnel in a leadership position who happened to be white, there is a view that there is a regression. CSA is the first to say they are not where they want to be. CSA believes transformation is a constant commitment.

In line with transformation, in 2015 CSA signed a tripartite agreement between the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Department of Sports and Recreation. This agreement was signed to address the challenges of cricket development in rural areas. Cricket is an expensive sport because of the specific field that is required which makes it different from rugby and soccer. The tripartite agreement stated that CSA would offer its expertise in running programmes and then the Sport Department would take over the excellent performance system. DBE had the responsibility of ensuring that schools that do not offer cricket, can introduce cricket programmes and infrastructure. Currently this agreement has not been fully implemented. The development of cricket in the late 80s and early 90s was based on the school system as this provided a controlled environment. Cricket was located within every school and every community. This worked at the time but is no longer sustainable in rural areas. This is because many village schools are closing and many village schools no longer offer sports due to the lack of personnel to coach cricket. The attrition of school staff led to cricket suffering in many schools. What CSA has done to combat this challenge was to cluster schools into cricket hubs so that within an area there will be a point where coaching takes place so players from neighbouring schools and clubs who deserve to be coached at a better level will be coached at that hub. These players can play more games in this hub and different hubs will play against each other. Players will then progress to a regional performance hub or centre. The main purpose of this was, where the school used to be necessary for cricket development, that is no longer happening. Now there is a need for a defined space to locate development within communities. The CSA finds coaches and places them in hubs. They ensure that these hubs play games because, if you want to compete properly in cricket, you need to play games. If one goes to a well-resourced school one will find that boys and girls play in excess of 15 to 20 games in a season. But if one goes to township and rural schools, one will find that these cricket sides only play five or six games in a season. The hub system seeks to address the disadvantage faced by cricket players in rural areas.

Pres Nenzani replied about how much of the CSA budget is dedicated to transformation. On average CSA spends over R300 million on cricket development to target rural areas and under-resourced schools. The effect of urbanisation on transformation and access in rural areas was highlighted. Parents in rural areas move to urban centres and as a result, there is an influx of rural cricketers to former Model C schools. How CSA accelerates talented players from rural schools was that, in the hub system, the best players are accommodated in hubs and progress to a regional performance centre. There these players receive proper coaching and then proceed to academies, at the top there is the Under 19 academy. Every affiliate has an Under 19 academy. Most of the time black players are lost during the transition from high school to university as their focus is no longer on cricket but to prioritise economic imperatives. The securing of a career takes precedence over remaining in the cricket system.

Pres Nenzani replied to the Committee’s concern about the replacement of a black CEO with a white CEO by saying that CSA did not look at race but at efficiency. They had to suspend the CEO because of the findings of the forensic investigation. CSA had quantifiable information to hold the former CEO accountable. They looked for a replacement who would be ready to fill the position and Dr Faul was found as the ideal candidate to steady the ship. Dr Faul’s race was not considered but rather his skills and leadership. Pres Nenzani asked the Acting CEO to answer about COVID-19 and the deficit of R200 million.

Dr Faul replied that up until the time of the meeting, the COVID-19 crisis had not negatively affected CSA as it was the off-season and hence the annual financial statements show a profit. However, COVID-19 will affect the future as it will result in the congestion of bilateral cricket around the world – especially for incoming tours. CSA would lose out on Indian content and home content which could have a massive effect on CSA. By not playing the three T20 matches scheduled against India, CSA would lose as much as R150 million. Due to the economic climate it would be very difficult for CSA to replace the Standard Bank sponsorship which amounted to R73 million a year. The international sponsor CSA had secured is not on that level as it is 50% of the Standard Bank sponsorship. CSA is still looking for a team sponsor for the Proteas. Due to the lack of predictability and the negative economic climate, it will be difficult to replace Standard Bank’s sponsorship

Dr Faul replied that the President is correct that CSA allocated R330 million in the previous year and R336 million this year for 14 affiliates for development cricket and regional performance centres (RPC). That amount is divided among the 14 affiliates to cover every corner of South Africa. The Committee rightly stated that the rural areas need a focused approach and CSA has added R1.5 million to the Fort Hare Academy. There is a rural provincial week on which CSA spends R4.1 million annually. There are nine hubs which collectively receive R4 million designated for rural areas. One RPC receives R520 000 so this adds up to R12.5 million.

Pres Nenzani replied about the outcome of the forensic report, saying that at this stage CSA has not received the report. However, CSA would receive the first part of the report before the close of business today. Once the report is received, it will be sent to the person elected by the Members Council to work with the investigators. The report will deal with matters surrounding the suspension of the CEO. Once the report is received, the required action will be taken. The forensic auditors have promised to give CSA the full completed report before the end of June, after which the report will be shared with the public and the Committee.

On Prof Shirley Zinn’s resignation from the CSA board and whether CSA is committed to having people of similar stature on the board of directors,  Pres Nenzani replied that CSA had done that. CSA has appointed three independent, well-qualified, skilled directors. These directors were part of the induction process happening today and their CVs could be shared with Committee. CSA was comfortable that it had brought on board directors who would make a telling impact.

Pres Nenzani replied that the relationship between CSA and the players union, SACA, is a relationship of necessity, that CSA needs SACA as CSA would not be able to run without players. The players need CSA. It was a relationship that CSA needed to nurture and the two organisations have moved from having an antagonistic relationship. The relationship between the two is aware of the challenges it faces. CSA and SACA were currently working together on the review of their cricket structures and they are willing to repair their relationship. They are working hard to ensure that their relationship works for cricket in the country.

Dr Faul spoke to the 3Team Cricket broadcasting rights and currently they have not been sold. The 3Team Cricket was a once-off event and hence it is a cost. CSA has made it available for SuperSport to pick up the costs and CSA is in negotiations with SABC for either a delayed or a highlights package to ensure optimal reach. CSA also offered broadcasting rights to its international broadcasters. Unfortunately, broadcasting is sold on a four-year basis and therefore there would not be any uptake for it and it would result in a production cost that SuperSport would cover. He emphasised that CSA was in negotiations to ensure that there is a feed to SABC.

Pres Nenzani answered about CSA receiving funding from the Ministry of Sports, Recreation and Arts and Culture. CSA has a good relationship with the Ministry and its officials. The Ministry gives CSA funding, however, this funding is not a lot of money. In the previous financial year, it was R2 million. There is a view, not necessarily that of the Department, that cricket has enough money but this is not necessarily correct. CSA receives support as and when they require it from the Ministry. CSA makes money when it is hosting games in SA and this is when the Ministry provides the necessary support. He asked Dr Faul to comment.

Dr Faul said that the benefits from the Department relate to the benefits of hosting of events. CSA plans to bid for several ICC events and the Ministry will help CSA with that. CSA received an additional R500 000 designated for the woman’s team from the Department for which CSA is grateful. The women’s team has done CSA proud in the bilateral and in the World Cup which needs to be built on.

Dr Faul replied about the potential R654 million loss that was brought up in the previous presentation to the Committee. This loss refers to the CSA four-year budgeting cycle. That has improved by R120 million to R150 million depending on the adjustments. CSA hoped to improve that situation. It should be now a R400 million loss over the four-year cycle which ends next year.

Pres Nenzani replied about street cricket as a game-changer. It is a game-changer in the manner that CSA is trying to reposition cricket and its connotations. He compared the street cricket to CSA’s KFC mini-cricket programme. This programme has a massive reach with over 180 000 young kids participating in the programme. With street cricket, CSA was attempting to revive interest in cricket and make it part of the lives of youngsters. The hope is to revive interest and then to translate it into more organized cricket. It is born out of this experience. CSA was linking street cricket with other competitions being put in place. “We found out when we analyzed all our competition structures that there are people who should not necessarily be in the semi-professional and professional levels because their skill and talent are not at the required level”. It is these people that could be channeled to play more club cricket and social cricket that would help to revive interest at that level. This allows CSA to get the best out of the mass programme and to take these players and put them through talent acceleration programmes to develop top players. Street cricket is intended to rekindle interest at the lowest level and to channel this interest into organised cricket.

Pres Nenzani that Standard Bank’s contract had expired at the end of April 2020 and they did not want to renew the contract due to the CSA challenges of November and December 2019. Standard Bank did not surprise CSA as they had engaged CSA. Standard Bank was not happy and CSA could not expect them to be – given the challenges and the crisis at the time.

Pres Nenzani started to reply about the names of the people brought in front of the disciplinary committee, but lost connection before revealing the names.

Mr Beresford Williams, CSA Vice President,  answered that Naasei Appiah, Chief Operations Officer, Ziyanda Nkuta, Acting Chief Financial Officer, Brian Eksteen, Commercial and Sales Head, and Dalene Nolan, Administrator, had been suspended as an outcome of the disciplinary process. CSA was waiting the outcome of Mr Appiah’s appeal hearing that should be provided soon. Mr Eksteen had lodged his matter with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) and CSA is waiting further details of when that matter will be heard. CSA is waiting the final report of the CEO investigation and they would be able to take necessary action soon.

Mr Williams commented on the key questions raised by the Committee on transformation, the dominance of white coaches, and lack of women representation. CSA is committed to transformation and it is one of its key imperatives. CSA was making every effort to ensure that it is sustainable, relevant, and competitive in meeting the changing demands in the market. CSA would continue to drive its transformation agenda and CSA is committed to radically transform cricket. Vacancies on the board of directors have been filled by two highly qualified and skilled women and an additional non-independent vacancy was also filled. All vacancies have been filled in the last six months and CSA has a fully operational board.

On whether CSA would lay criminal charges once the forensic report has been presented, Mr Williams replied that CSA would assess its options and decide if criminal charges are needed. CSA would hold the individuals accountable for their actions.

Mr Williams stated that the newly appointed women directors were being inducted today.

The Chairperson said that the list of CSA board members must be emailed to the Committee.

Mr Mhlongo made a point of order that his questions had not been answered.

Pres Nenzani answered that the disciplinary process was fair and that is why it is has taken such a long time. CSA ensured that every disciplinary hearing was conducted by an external disciplinary board and an independent prosecutor. The chairperson of the disciplinary committee was not connected to CSA. All outcomes were processed according to the laws of the country.

Pres Nenzani replied to Mr Mhlongo on whether there was an internal problem based on the different media statements by the Acting CEO and the President on the forensic report. CSA has not yet received the forensic report. CSA would receive the first part of the report today and it would be processed by the officer elected by the Members Council. The completed report would be received by the end of the month. In other instances the President and the Acting CEO had not shared different information to the public.

Pres Nenzani replied that he did not know why Mr Graeme Smith would say he does not understand transformation. CSA has a transformation policy that determines all activities and determines composition of a team. These targets are contained in CSA policy. On a national set up they allow flexibility and they assess these targets on a season by season basis. On a domestic set up these targets are not flexible and they must be met. He did not know why Mr Smith would say this as he had played cricket for South Africa. He added that currently there was a very clear process of implementation of targets within the system.

Pres Nenzani replied about Mr Smith having expressed a preference for the ICC chairpersonship. He has already issued a statement. At this stage CSA has not taken a position as the nomination process has not yet opened. The ICC is still busy dealing with the process of putting in place guidelines for the election of the ICC chairpersonship. That process would conclude at the ICC meeting on 25 June. The Members Council has not made a decision to say that if candidates are vying for the ICC chairpersonship, who CSA will be supporting. That mandate will be given to the CSA board chairperson who sits at ICC level.

Pres Nenzani replied about Thabang Moroe being at the CSA offices last week. Mr Moroe and his legal team are making an assertion that CSA had said that Mr Moroe would be suspended for six months – they calculated the six months from 5 December 2019 until 5 June 2020. He was informed that Mr Moroe was outside the CSA office but at this stage nobody is working from the office due to COVID-19. Only security personal are at the office and everyone else is working from home. The office was not closed on Mr Moroe’s account but due to everyone working from home. When he was informed that Mr Moroe was outside, he instructed them to allow Mr Moroe into the perimeter of the building as it was very cold – but that Mr Moroe did not get into the office. Mr Moroe’s suspension letter is very clear that the suspension is linked to the outcome and the conclusion of the forensic investigation.

Pres Nenzani replied about Project 654. Dr Faul has spoken to this but that he would provide context. The CSA has a four-year rolling budget. CSA income from broadcasting was linked to the Future Tours Program – “where you have countries visiting you, where you visit countries”. There is a rights cycle. The reason for the four-year rolling budget is that when South Africa plays certain countries abroad, CSA makes a loss. CSA makes a profit from international teams playing in South Africa. It needed to plan for a loss and CSA makes up for these losses with money generating tours. Project 654 in this context means that if CSA does not do anything by the end of this rights cycle, CSA would have lost R654 million. CSA needed to plan for this and they put this project in place so that everything CSA did in its budgeting and operations would ensure that by the time the rights cycle ended CSA would break even or have a positive budgeting situation. As Dr Faul has said, the projection is CSA has decreased the loss by more than R200 million.

Pres Nenzani replied about what CSA is doing in rural and underprivileged schools to develop cricket. The tripartite agreement he spoke about answers this – the regional hub system and CSA’s partnership with municipalities. CSA understands that spending money in the sport is not a priority, especially for government due to other competing realities. On ensuring access for talented players, there are bursary schemes especially with the Willowton Group which uses its brand name, Sunfoil. These bursaries are afforded to learners in rural areas to attend university and colleges and have better opportunities.

He answered about the EPG targets. The CSA is not happy at not meeting the black African targets, especially in the past year. CSA is flexible at a national level to say that they measure performance and achievement of the target over a season and in the lower ranks this is measured on a match by match basis. They have a high-performance centre and this centre must deliver scientific interventions that allow CSA to address areas where it is lacking. Black African batters is an area where CSA is lacking. There are several being put in place to address this area. This area is linked to Apartheid geography – schools and clubs in affluent neighbourhoods have better facilities. Therefore, players from these areas develop techniques that are more competitive than players in under-resourced neighbourhoods.

On the state of franchise cricket in non-metropolitan areas, this relates to economic availability and the current system of franchise cricket is not self-sustaining. After it was introduced in 2003, there was a view that these cricket teams would generate funding to develop cricket in these areas. This did not work out as planned. CSA is trying to partner with municipalities so that they can invest in these teams.

Minister's remarks
Minister Nathi Mthethwa thanked the CSA president. The point of the EPG, in its barometer process, did suggest progress in cricket’s transformation programme. He hoped to discuss CSA’s EPG for 2018/19. Firstly, on school sport, EPG raises the point that out of 25 000 schools you have about 10% with sport and physical training. The Department did make the point after the EPG outcome that it would go back to the drawing board with the Department of Basic Education. Whilst on the topic of development, CSA alluded to R300 million put aside for development. In this process, athletes disappear in the system when they go on to institutions of higher learning. There is a need to visit this challenge because if this is what we were doing over some time, there would be a lack of black African players. The disappearance of talent raised here means that something needs to be done.

Minister Mthethwa noted that it is not only R2 million that the Department gives CSA but there is an added R3 million development intervention which was referred to, which goes to the cricket hubs.

Minister Mthethwa said that he felt insulted by Pres Nenzani’s intervention that he appoints people only on merit. When one looks at the core positions – Chief Operations Officer (COO), Director, you look at the coach, the deputy being a Black African and the batting specialist – yet Pres Nenzani said that there is no regression in transformation, that makes him feel particularly insulted by this statement. What this type of statement says to him is that there is a posture that is being taken that you have Black Africans in other areas that are not the core. In the top five positions, there is only one Black African and he is deputy coach. He was not happy with Pres Nenzani’s statement. He asked if it meant that, after 26 years, there is not any  available to fill these other four positions. He took exception to this as it suggested that the only people with merit are white.

Minister Mthethwa corrected CSA that the request for the 27 June event is being processed and has not been approved yet. Consultations are still occurring with the Department of Health. There is good will from the Department. There are two issues at hand in terms of the outcomes of EPG. Firstly, development in which government and sporting codes have a role to play. It cannot be accepted that CSA spends R300 million on development but that these players are not seen on the pitch. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Basic Education is going to be revisited. The government must answer the question of whether this tool is working. Secondly, there was an issue of will. Public representatives should disabuse themselves of "being managed" and there must be an iron will to transform – there should not be malicious compliance. The Committee met with CSA last year after the suspension of the CEO and the Minister had “made the point that if you have a board and the sins that emanate out of the work and the operations of the CEO, CFO and the COO, they must face the full might of the law”. The Department would be engaging with all sporting codes on the outcome of the EPG audit. He underlined that there were bad signs that he was seeing and this must be confronted. He heard Pres Nenzani say that as far as he was concerned transformation is nothing. Part of the problem was that the 2011 Sports Charter was one-size-fits-all and open-ended. With the EPG barometer the Department would not excuse people because it is done with the sporting bodies. It is inexcusable for the sporting code not to achieve targets that were agreed upon with the Department. There was no way of sugar-coating what they were faced with; that transformation could not be left, certainly not in 2020. He concluded that the Department is committed to transformation, they want to see it happen and to see everybody playing their role.

Further questions and comments
Mr Madlingozi said that cultural respect starts with language and names. Pres Nenzani chose not to deal with Dr Faul’s mispronunciation of Pres Nenzani’s surname. How could they be led by a leader who is not proud of his surname or his language? Pres Nenzani failed to describe the challenges which caused Standard Bank to withdraw its sponsorship. He accused Pres Nenzani of not giving specific answers. He took issue with Pres Nenzani saying that there were four or five black African players within a club as if demographics between black and white South Africans was 50/50. Pres Nenzani’s statement that cricket is an expensive sport inferred that it was only for the rich and white people. They cannot perpetuate “this poverty-stricken situation” of about street cricket. They must get rid of street cricket as it is a waste of money. The Committee needs to encourage Afro-centric development within the sport and he does not feel that Pres Nenzani is the right person to do this.

Mr Mhlongo asked what the CSA board plan was should they decide they did not exercise their duties properly with Mr Moroe. He asked about a conflict of interest among board members. He asked if the board members had resigned. The Minister said that the EPG barometer was not working. For the past 26 years it has not worked as you cannot allow someone to measure themselves and set their targets. The Committee had been reviewing the MOU between the Department of Sport and DBE. There was no action and he wondered how many times it has been said that "it would work".

Mr Mhlongo said it is shocking that the Department had not yet approved the 27 June event that CSA had advertised.

CSA President concluding remarks
Pres Nenzani said he noted what the Minister had said especially on the question of where are the black African players. In the system there are people and one must ensure that these people fall in line with the policies of the organisation. There has to be a minimum of three black African players in the first-class cricket team – but most of the time this becomes a maximum. People’s minds need to be changed and one must ensure that people implement what needs to be done. This was a big issue that CSA was dealing with. CSA is not proud of the lack of transformation.

He replied to Mr Mhlongo’s question on a conflict of interest in the board and what will happen once the investigation is finished. The Member’s Council is the owner of the board as it elects the board. Therefore the Member’s Council would have to decide what it would do with the board if any issues are revealed. Board members would have to take responsibility for wrongdoing.

He asked that Mr Madlingozi give the idea of street cricket a chance and see how it turns out. It is a way to galvanize communities around the game of cricket so that the game becomes a truly national sport of winners.

The Chairperson thanked Pres Nenzani for his presentation but insisted that the CSA representation at Committee meetings needed to be gender sensitive in future. She adjourned the meeting.